


Sometimes Tears Can Turn to Dreams

by WritingPaperGhost



Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game), ウルトラシリーズ | Ultra Series, ウルトラマンギンガ | Ultraman Ginga
Genre: Crossover, I don't know what else to tag yet, Spoilers, spoilers for Ni No Kuni, spoilers for Ultraman Ginga/S
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingPaperGhost/pseuds/WritingPaperGhost
Summary: Two worlds find themselves colliding in ways that no one could have expected. Despite this, the heroes of both the worlds are more than prepared to fight the looming darkness that threatens both. The past will be dug up and new bonds will be forged. But one question continues to linger: Will the power of Oliver and his friends alongside the power of two Ultramen be enough to save both their worlds? Or will they fall to the darkness that looms?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. An Adventurer, a Wizard, and a Strange Person Meet in a Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Am I writing a Ni No Kuni and Ultraman Ginga/S crossover? Yes. Will this appeal to anyone other than myself and eventually my sister, probably? I doubt it. Do I care? No.

The town of Motorville was nothing special, at least as far as towns with. It had itself a small store, a mechanical repair shop, a school a little ways out of town. In a way, it was similar to Furuhoshi, though many small towns were. There wasn’t much to be done in the town itself, but there were a few interesting things in a nearby forest, most notably a waterfall.

That waterfall was what brought Hikaru to the town, as he was now going to town to buy some supplies. It wasn’t too hard to find the store, you just had to follow the main street and you’d find it. Though when he tried the door, it was locked and he noticed that the sign was still flipped to close. He frowned, the sign with hours said it should be open right now...

“Oh, I haven’t seen you around here before,” Hikaru turns to look at the source of the voice, a boy, probably not even a teenager. He had reddish brown hair and dark blue eyes, a confused look on his face. “Are you trying to get into the store?”

“Yeah,” Hikaru responded, “It says it should be open...”

The boy tilted his head confused, trying the door himself. “Normally, Myrtle opens while Miss Lelia is out on her run...” He thought for a moment before adding, “Myrtle must have gotten distracted.”

With a sigh, Hikaru crossed his arms, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait...”

The boy’s face lit up, “Oh! I could probably find Myrtle, she needs to open the shop anyway.” He quickly ran off, down the street to the crosswalk, giving Hikaru little chance to say much else. He contemplated for a moment, before deciding he might as well follow the boy, at the very least because it’s something to do.

Catching up with the boy wasn’t hard, Hikaru’s legs were much longer, allowing him to cover more distance. The boy noticed him and stopped running, turning to look at him confused. Hikaru stopped, giving the boy a thumbs up.

“I figured I could come with you,” He explained, “I’m Hikaru.”

The boy smiled, apparently not minding that Hikaru was tagging along to look for Myrtle. “It’s nice to meet you, Hikaru,” The boy seemed pretty polite as he introduced himself, “I’m Oliver.”

With introductions out of the way, Oliver continued to walk down the street, Hikaru following suit. He led them into a residential street - though many streets in this town were - and stops, though not outside any one of the houses. Running down the sidewalk was a boy, with a dog alongside him. Up a few houses was a girl with blond hair, cheering for him.

Oliver tugged Hikaru out of the way of the boy and the dog, a smile on his face. “That’s Danny and Ghengis, they’re training for a track meet.” He explained, then pointed to the blond girl, “That’s Myrtle, she must have lost track of time trying to help Danny.”

Once Danny and Ghengis had passed, Oliver continued down to the girl, Myrtle. “Myrtle!” He called catching her attention. She looked up, smiling. Then a look of confusion flashes on her face, prompting Oliver to say, “You forgot to open the shop for Miss Lelia.”

Realization dawns on her face, making her start running past Oliver and Hikaru, “Thanks Oliver!” She called, “I completely forgot!”

After watching Myrtle run off, Oliver turns to HIkaru, looking up at him, “Well, the shop should be open now,” He said, “Sorry about that, Myrtle really wants to help Danny with his training and... Well sometimes she gets distracted.”

Hikaru laughs slightly, “It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry, anyway.” He turns to return to the shop, figuring that Myrtle would be done opening by the time he got there. “Beside, I get it. I used to live in a small town myself.”

The two of them are walking towards the shop now. Oliver hums, “What brings you here, then?”

“I’m an adventurer,” Hikaru explained, “So I came to see the waterfall in the forest outside of town.”

Oliver’s face lights up at that, “Oh yeah! I’ve been to the waterfall a few times! It’s really cool!” He pauses for a moment, seemingly hesitant, “What’s it like to be an adventurer?” There was something else there, at least Hikaru thought so, but he wasn’t really sure what.

Still, Hikaru figured it couldn’t hurt to answer, “It’s fun, I get to go around the world and see all sorts of cool stuff and meet all sorts of people.” He shoves his hands in his pocket, not missing how one bumps against the Ginga Spark. It always reminded him of his friends and the adventure he had when he was last in Furuhoshi. “I still go back and visit my friends, though.”

Oliver takes in his words, thoughtful and interested. “Gee, that does sound fun.” They were close to the shop now, “Where do you plan to go next?”

That was a good question, Hikaru didn’t always know his next destination, truthfully. Sometimes he knew, sometimes he didn’t. This was honestly one of the times he wasn’t entirely sure. “I don’t know,” He answered truthfully, “I guess I’ll just see where I’ll end up.”

They were in front of the shop now, Hikaru could see Myrtle inside, along with a woman behind the counter. Oliver looks up at him, “Well, the shop’s open,” He said, nodding, “I hope you can continue your adventure, Mr. Hikaru.”

\---

The waterfall that was in the forest around Motorville was, just as Oliver had said, very cool. Or pretty might be the better word to describe it. Either way, Hikaru was certainly glad that he’d come to see it.

He sat and had himself lunch near there, the sound of rushing water the main noise in the background. There were a few other sounds, as one would hear in a forest. After he had eaten and packed up all his things, he began to make his way out of the forest. He was maybe a quarter of the way down the path back towards town when he heard an odd noise.

One might ignore it and continue on, but Hikaru wasn’t unfamiliar with these sorts of things and wanted to check it out. Some part of him was half expecting to see someone like Alien Valky or Alien Icarus there, about to start trouble. He knew it was extremely unlikely, especially now that Dark Lugiel was gone, but that feeling never really went away.

So Hikaru wanted to investigate, just in case. You could never be too careful and there weren’t supposed to be too many dangerous animals, at least not any that would make that sound. Following the noise, he found himself farther and farther from the path. He was close to the sounds now, still unable to identify what it was.

He ducks behind some bushes now, peering into a clearing. Standing there, surrounded by strange symbols glowing on the ground, was something - someone - decidedly not human. The person almost resembled a dragon, scaly body with sharp eyes. Peeking out from under a tattered cape looked to be even more tattered wings, partially folded. The dragon person seemed to be wearing armor over his scales, though the armor appeared to be made from the same indigo scales that adorned his body. In one hand was a staff, looking to be made out of some kind of dark metal, an ornate design all around it and two white gems adorning the top.

The other hand was empty, though it was gesturing, seemingly drawing the symbols from the papers that were hovering around the person. He was focused, but there was something odd about him, about everything he was doing. It wasn’t just the unfamiliar symbols, the powerful wind stirring up, and strange energy that was gathering, there was something else there too.

What should Hikaru do? It would make sense to try to stop the person, but he wasn’t even sure what the person was doing. The symbols began to glow even brighter, prompting Hikaru to decide that he couldn’t waste anymore time. He had to do something. So Hikaru swiftly stands and does the first thing that he can think to do. Tackle the person.

The person lets out a yelp and the papers fall, the glowing symbols disappearing and the wind stops entirely. Next thing Hikaru knows, something sends him flying back, the dragon person is clutching his staff, a scowl on his face as he begins to get back up.

Hikaru scrambles, trying to stand himself, though he’s stopped when the dragon person hits him with the staff. “How dare you interrupt me?” The dragon person growls, eyes narrowed. He seems contemplative before speaking again, his tone almost light, a crazy contrast to his anger before, “What should I do with you...?”

He closes his eyes, clearly in thought, though the staff remains held against Hikaru’s chest. After a few moments, moments Hikaru was using to try to come up with a plan, the dragon person finally opened his eyes. “I know,” He said, a devious smirk on his face, “How would you like to experience a broken heart?”

A broken heart...? What on Earth was this dragon person talking about? Hikaru wasn’t given much time to think, as the person began to make a symbol in the air with his staff, speaking words that Hikaru couldn’t understand. A dark energy gathered around Hikaru and the staff, a feeling of heaviness coming over him.

The feeling didn’t go away, even after the person was done. HIkaru couldn’t explain it, but it made him feel... It made him feel like he didn’t want to move. The dragon person took a step back, a self satisfied smile on his face. He shook his head, “I suppose that will do,” He wondered aloud, “But I don’t have time to waste... I have work to do.” With a wave of his staff, he gathers his papers and disappears in a flash.

Hikaru was left alone now, managing to bring himself to a stand, though he still felt... Not exactly numb but... No, maybe that was right. He was in a bit of pain, thanks to his scuffle with the dragon person. He wished he could bring himself to wonder more about it, but he couldn’t. Something in him just seemed to have... Disappeared.

He glances at the ground beside him, seeing the Ginga Spark there, lying on the ground. It must have fallen out of his pocket. He doesn’t bother to pick it up, some part of him doesn’t see the point.

Maybe he should just go back to Furuhoshi, see if he could see his friends... What was the point of traveling? It wasn’t going to show him much more new, nothing he couldn’t learn at home. If he was back in Furuhoshi, he could see his friends more, probably. It would be so much better than traveling around...

“Mr. Hikaru!”

\---

Oliver had been in the forest, practicing his magic. There wasn’t much he could do in this world, obviously, but he still wanted to practice. Not to mention he was trying to see if he could use other spells. So far, he’d managed to use Form Familiar and Fireball, though neither of those were very powerful or complicated spells.

After a while, though, he noticed something strange. There was a strange energy, he could just feel it from deeper in the forest and the wind was oddly strong. So Oliver decided he was going to investigate. If something happened, he had Astra handy, so he was as prepared as he could be. He made his way deeper into the forest, unsure of what he’d find.

What Oliver found, though, was a person, awkwardly standing, leaning against the tree. The wind and that odd energy had disappeared, leaving only the vague feeling that it was there. As he got closer, he realized who the man was, though something seemed off.

“Mr. Hikaru!” He caught Mr. Hikaru’s attention, resulting in him looking up at him. He held a frown on his face, something in his eyes was empty. Though Oliver had run up closer to Mr. Hikaru, he stopped. Something about Mr. Hikaru was truly off. “...Mr. Hikaru...?”

Mr. Hikaru looked at him for a moment before saying, “Oh, hello.”

Oliver was unsure if what had happened or if Mr. Hikaru was somehow involved in what brought him here, but that didn’t stop him from being worried. “Mr. HIkaru, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Was Mr. Hikaru’s dull response, “I just...”

Hadn’t Oliver seen behavior like this before? Yes, he had. It was just like someone who was brokenhearted. But how? There shouldn’t be anyone who knows how to do that... Still, the symptoms couldn’t be ignored, if Mr. Hikaru really was brokenhearted, then it was up to Oliver to help him. The only question was... If Mr. Hikaru was brokenhearted, then what piece of heart was he missing?

As if he knew what Oliver was wondering, Mr. Hikaru shook his head and said, perhaps more to himself than anyone else, “I don’t see the point anymore. In being an adventurer. It’s just... It’s a stupid idea, a stupid dream.”

Maybe he was lacking belief? Or maybe ambition? Despite Oliver’s best attempts at studying his words, he couldn’t figure out for sure what Mr. Hikaru needed. He wished Mr. Drippy was here, he always seemed to know what people needed when they were brokenhearted.

While he was pondering what he might need to search for, his locket began to glow. Oliver thought that was strange, it only did that when someone had an abundance of something in their heart. There were only him and Mr. Hikaru here, though. And Mr. Hikaru was brokenhearted. So did Oliver have what he needed.

With a frown, Oliver tried to use Take Heart on himself, to no avail. Besides, he didn’t think the locket was glowing bright enough to be him. But he was too far away from anyone else that he could see. Then he notices something on the ground, beside where Hikaru was standing. It was hard to describe, but it was small enough to be held, silver and yellow.

He picks it up and his locket glows even brighter. That was odd. Did this strange item hold a piece of heart? But how could that be? It was inanimate... In a flash of light, a strange figure or doll appears. It’s red and silver, with blue crystals on it. It fell to the ground and the glowing of his locket died down.

Did the doll have a piece of heart, then? Oliver sighed, figuring it was worth a shot. So he crouched down and cast Take Heart once again. This time, it worked and from the doll came what must have been a piece of heart, even if Oliver didn’t recognize it. Still, his locket took it, and Oliver thought he knew what it was, now. Dream.

Now that he had the piece of heart, regardless of how odd the place it came from was, he could cure Mr. Hikaru’s broken heart. He cast Give Heart and let the new piece of heart, the piece of dream, go to Mr. Hikaru.

The improvement is immediately obvious. Mr. Hikaru looked up, his eyes wide and on Oliver in amazement. “Oliver...” He began, “Did you... Did you fix what that person did to me?”

Oliver mulled over his words, for a moment. Mr. Hikaru had seen the person who made him brokenhearted. But who was that person? And why? Not to mention he was still amazed by how he got a piece of heart from a doll.

“Who broke your heart?” Oliver asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice. If there was someone who could break hearts, that was one thing, but if they were in this world... That was a whole slew of other problems. Oliver would have a lot harder time stopping that person in this world. “What happened?”

For some reason or another, Mr. Hikaru explained his encounter with the strange person. After, Oliver returned the strange item to him and he’d have picked up and given the doll, but it was gone. Mr. Hikaru took the item back with a small smile.

It was clear that the person was trying to cast some sort of spell, but what Mr. Hikaru described didn’t sound like anything Oliver had seen in the Wizard’s Companion. So what was he trying to do? Still, Mr. Hikaru seemed to have a question of his own.

“Hey, so Oliver,” He began, “What exactly did you do? To fix me? It was like magic.”

Oliver had learned that adults didn’t take him seriously when he said that he used magic, and no matter how nice Mr. Hikaru was, he was still an adult. So he didn’t really want to tell him how he did. But that left the question of how to answer it. Oliver decided to be vague, “Something like that,” He said.

The two of them began to walk back to Motorville, Mr. Hikaru oddly not bringing up the wand in Oliver’s hand or the thick book under his other arm. Though their walk back wasn’t as uneventful as either would have liked. The wind grew strong, like before, and Oliver could feel energy gathering. Someone was trying to cast a powerful spell, like before he found Mr. Hikaru.

Mr. Hikaru must have noticed too, as he looked off in a direction. “There it is again,” He said, “It must be that person!” He gave little other warning before running off. Startled, Oliver soon dashed behind him, trying desperately to keep up. Mr. Hikaru could run quicker, though, so despite Oliver’s best efforts, Mr. Hikaru was going to arrive first.

“You again!” Oliver heard a voice yell, sounding thoroughly annoyed. That must be the person who Mr. Hikaru had encountered earlier. “And how are you cured of your broken heart!?”

“Whatever you’re doing,” Mr. HIkaru yelled, “Stop it!”

“You can’t stop me.” The person growled. Oliver caught up with the other two just in time to see Mr. HIkaru tackle the person. Then there was a flash and they were both gone. Oliver could easily figure out what spell had been cast. Gateway. The person and Mr. Hikaru were both, most likely, in the other world.


	2. The Plot Thickens. Then Stops Enitrely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HIkaru wakes up, meets Oliver again and then they go to investigate some things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at the same time as the first chapter. I just thought that was important to note.

Hikaru wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. One moment he was tackling the strange dragon person in the forest outside of Motorville, the next he was somewhere entirely different. The dragon person was still there, still under Hikaru, but they weren’t in the forest now, now they were in some sort of city. The city seemed to be filled with mechanical bits, and fluorescent light, most likely enclosed since Hikaru could now see a roof. The dragon person had thrown him off.

There were people around, now forming a sort of curious circle, most likely wondering who they were or where they’d come from. Hikaru noted that everyone wore odd clothing, as though they were in some sort of fantasy world. In this case, he seemed to be the one who stood out. The crowd was muttering, about what, precisely, Hikaru could not hear.

The person quickly stood, then drew a symbol in the air with his staff and disappeared. Leaving Hikaru alone, in an unfamiliar city, surrounded by curious eyes. This was not a situation he was prepared for. Sure, he’d been the odd one out in a place, somewhere he’d traveled to. But he was pretty sure their entrance contributed to the looks.

He wondered if it might be best to try and leave. Not that he had much time to even try that.

“Halt!” Soon, instead of being surrounded by normal citizens, he was surrounded by what appeared to be guards, even if there were only four or five of them. “Who are you? A traveler? Where did you come from?”

Hikaru raised his hands, hoping to at least ease the guards. It was hard to say whether that worked, but he figured he should answer the questions. “I’m... Uh, Hikaru Raido,” He began, “I’m an adventurer and I came from Japan?”

One of the guards responded, “There is no place called that.”

With a tilt of his head, he added, “It’s a country?”

“Lying,” Another said, “To guards, is illegal by the laws of Hamelin.”

Hamelin? Where was that? Was that the city he was in? Or was it a country he’d never heard of? Still, Hikaru didn’t understand why they thought he was lying. “I’m telling the truth,” He protested, “Really!”

The first guard rolled his eyes, “You’re not convincing anyone.”

Hikaru wasn’t really sure what to do or what to say. Apparently, nothing was going to get these people to believe him. Which was a problem, for several reasons. The last thing he needed was to get arrested in some strange place, especially given he still wasn’t really sure where he was. Or how he’d got there, even.

Sure, it was clearly the fault of that dragon person, but what had that person done? The two of them had just appeared here like magic. But that didn’t really make sense... Except it seemed like Oliver had done something magical too, and the strange feeling that had overcame him, that Ginga had somehow helped save him from. So maybe it was magic? Or he was letting his imagination get away from him.

“Mr. Hikaru!” Hikaru turned his head in the direction of the voice, and so did the guards. And everyone else in the street. It seemed they all recognized the voice, oddly. Running towards them was Oliver, though he was wearing odd clothes. A blue tunic over white long sleeves and pants, with a red short cape.

The muttering began again, this time it seemed to be from Oliver’s appearance, as odd as that sounded. Was Hikaru imagining this? It wouldn’t really make sense but... Still, he found himself speaking up, “Oliver? How’d you get here?”

The guards looked to Hikaru, for a moment, then back to Oliver. One addressed the boy, “This man,” The guard points at Hikaru, “Do you know him?”

Oliver nods, “Yes sir, he’s with me.”

The guard thought for a moment before nodding. “Let the man go, then.” The guards dispersed, though the crowd did not. Oliver walked up to HIkaru.

“Are you alright?” He asked, looking him over, “I can cast Healing Touch or Healing Hand if you’re hurt...”

Hikaru shook his head, “I’m fine... But where are we? And how did we get here?”

Oliver looked at him for a moment before nodding, “This is Hamelin, a kingdom in another world. We got here using magic, a spell called Gateway.”

“Another world?” Hikaru echoed, “That’s crazy.”

“I know the thought...”

“Wait, the people here seem to recognize you,” Hikaru noted, “Have you been here before?”

With a nod in response, Oliver grabs his wrist and tugs him off in a direction, “I have, but we need to get you back to Motorville, at least so you stop gaining so many looks.”

As much as Hikaru would like to leave this all as the notion of a possible fever dream, there was something that was bugging him. “What about that person?” He asked, “What do you think he was doing?”

They were in an alleyway now, so Oliver stopped and turned to look at him. He frowned for a moment, “I don’t know... But it seemed like it was some kind of spell.” Oliver contemplated for a moment, “I’m honestly kind of worried... But I’m not sure what to do about it...”

Hikaru saw an opening, a reason not to let this kid try to deal with any of this alone. Not to mention, if that spell was dangerous, then who knows what could happen to someone if it was cast. Who knows what it could do... Though frankly he was still reeling about magic. “How about we find him and stop him together?”

“Oh no!” Oliver waved his hands, “That’s fine! I have friends here who can help me and-”

“At the very least, it’ll save you another trip to Motorville and back.” Hikaru argued, “Not to mention, I’d like to see more of this world. It’ll be an adventure.”

It seemed like Oliver wanted to argue more, but he also seemed hesitant to do so. He sighed, then shook his head, “Alright, but we’ll have to find you some different clothes. You stand out too much.”

Nodding, Hikaru asked, “Where should we go then?”

Oliver leads him out of the alley and back into the streets of Hamelin. “The Hootique will probably be our best bet,” He said, guiding Hikaru through the streets and the crowds. “If anywhere will have something, it’ll be there.”

As it turned out, they were able to find some clothes in the Hootique, though they were all a little off fitting. The shirt and pants were just a little small, and the jacket they found was actually a bit big. But it would have to do. It still would attract less attention than what Hikaru had been wearing.

Once Oliver had paid, the two walked out. Hikaru could already tell he was getting far less strange looks than before. He looked to Oliver, one question on his mind at that moment, “So how are we gonna find that person?”

Looking up at him, Oliver tilted his head, frowning in thought, “I’m not really sure...” He began flipping through the pages of the book he had, “I don’t really recognize the spell he used and it’s not in the Wizard’s Companion...”

Hikaru tilted his head, shoving his hands in his pockets to fiddle with the Ginga Spark, “Will finding out what spell he’s trying to use help us?”

Once again looking up at him, Oliver responds, “Maybe, at the very least it might let us have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.” He closed the book with a sigh, “It could also give us an idea of where he might be, depending on what it might do.”

“So then,” Hikaru began, looking around, “Is there someone who might know?”

Oliver thought about it, humming, “Well, there are two people I know who are really well versed in magic... Since we’re in Hamelin, it would probably make the most sense to ask Marcassin first.” He looks across the sort of balcony overlook, the one that looked out on the street that Hikaru had appeared in. At the end of the street seemed to be some kind of palace. “Follow me.”

Oliver leads Hikaru back to the street he’d appeared in, and continues down. Hikaru had thought, initially, that this Marcassin lived in a house along the street, but that quickly stopped seeming likely. Soon they were in front of the two guards that stood in front of the entrance to the palace.

Hikaru was about to say something, when one of the guards spoke up, addressing Oliver, “Oh, are you here to see the Emperor and his brother?” It seemed they recognized Oliver. But that wasn’t really the part that made Hikaru double take. It was the fact that apparently Oliver knew both the Emperor of Hamelin and the Emperor’s brother.

With a smile, Oliver responded yes, and soon the two were being escorted through the castle. They were led through a large, open, room, prompting the guard to announce their presence. Or rather, Oliver’s, “The Pure Hearted One,” The guard said, before bowing and leaving.

In the room were two men, one with long black hair and blue eyes, wearing very fancy and formal looking clothes. Beside him was a man with shorter brown hair, that might have been curly, or it could have just been messy. He wore simpler clothes, though clearly still high quality, looking ever slightly uncomfortable.

The one with brown hair came up to Oliver, ruffling his hair, “Oliver,” He exclaimed, “I think you’ve gotten less short since last time you were here!”

“Swaine!” Oliver seemed to almost whine, though he was clearly glad to see the man, Swaine.

The other man spoke up, “It’s good to see you, Oliver,” He seemed much more restrained, though he had a smile on his face, “We weren’t expecting you.”

Swaine nodded, “Yeah, we just heard you’d shown up.”

The other man looked over at Hikaru, eyeing him for a moment, “I take it this is the oddly dressed man who showed up earlier?”

Oliver seemed to have forgotten Hikaru was there, “Oh yeah!” He gestures to Hikaru, “This is Mr. Hikaru. He’s from my world.”

“Swaine,” Swaine introduced, giving Hikaru a look that he wasn’t sure what it meant. it seemed a bit cautious, if Hikaru had to give any emotion to it.

The other man spoke, “I am Marcassin, Emperor of Hamelin.” It took Hikaru a moment to process that. The Marcassin that Oliver wanted to ask for help from... was the Emperor of the kingdom. That was a bit much to take in.

Oliver quickly went on to explain why they were here. He explained the dragon person and the unknown spell, Hikaru’s broken heart - which required a quick explanation for Hikaru - and how HIkaru had ended up in Hamelin.

After, Marcassin hummed in thought, “I see,” He noted, eyes closed. He opened them and continued, “I’m afraid I know nothing about this person nor the spell he was trying to cast.”

Though Oliver was clearly disappointed, he also didn’t seem to surprised, “I was kinda expecting that... Thanks anyway, though.” He frowned in thought, probably trying to think about who might know, if anyone.

Watching them for a moment, Swaine suggests, “I heard that there were some weird things going on over in the Tombstone Trail,” Oliver takes in the information, a thoughtful look on his face, “Might be nothing but...”

HIkaru glances at Oliver, then looks back up at Swaine, “It... It could be worth checking out.”

Nodding, Oliver agrees, “Yeah, at the very least it could help someone, even if it has nothing to do with that person.”

“Well then,” Swaine cheers, “That settles it.” He approaches Oliver and Hikaru once more.

Marcassin tilts his head, a small but fond smile on his face. “There’s no guarantee it means anything... but it could be worthwhile....” He then shifts subjects, “It might be good to go to Perdida and visit Khulan to ask her about that spell.”

“Right!” Oliver nods, “We’ll visit Perdida then head to the Tombstone Trail and see what’s going on.”

“Good luck,” Marcassin called as they began to leave the room, “Don’t get yourselves too hurt, Oliver, Gascon, Hikaru.” That was odd... Why did he call Swaine that? Or at least, presumably it was Swaine, given that was the name that wasn’t called.

As they excited the palace, it became increasingly clear that Swaine was coming along with them. Oliver knew him, so he must have been fine with the idea of having him come along. Even planning to go to a place called Tombstone Trail, it wasn’t like there could be all that much there. It might be hazardous to cross but... What else could there be? It should be fine.

Checking his bag, Oliver nods to himself, “We should be good on supplies... I think I might get some more Cappuccinos when we’re in Perdida... Can never have too much coffee...”

HIkaru tilts his head at that, confused, “Aren’t you a bit... young to drink a lot of coffee?”

Swaine laughs at that and Oliver looks up, “First off, I’m fourteen,” He protests, “Second off, coffee here works differently than in our world. Here it helps recover magic, just like burgers and sandwiches heal you when you’re hurt.”

Hikaru blinks at that, then just decides to sigh and go with it. Things certainly didn’t have to make the same sense as in their world. Besides, Oliver would probably understand this world better than Hikaru, he at least had some experience with it.

“Alright then,” Oliver declared after a few more moments, “I can just cast Travel and get us to Perdida in no time.” He brought out his wand - something HIkaru just accepted now - and began to draw a symbol in the air.

Glancing over at Swaine, Hikaru asks, “There’s a spell for that?”

With a laugh, Swaine responds, “I swear there’s a spell for everything and the kitchen sink.”

To describe how travel felt was hard. The best Hikaru could give was that brief moment where he was transitioning from himself into whatever SparkDoll he was trying to UltraLive into. Regardless, one moment they were in Hamelin, now they were in a different place entirely.

They were outside now, surrounded by buildings that looked like buildings Hikaru had seen in his trips to South America. The same could be said in regards to the bits of clearly older architecture, including the walls around the city.

Upon arriving Oliver first went to the person who was apparently the merchant of the town. Hikaru figured he’d leave all that to Oliver, who clearly knew what he was doing here. He decided just to ignore the looks of the people in the town now.

Glancing over at Swaine, Hikaru saw the man had pulled out something resembling a gun, though it had all sorts of other bits to it. If anything, it resembled a fantasy esque gun. Of course, since this world was rather fantastic, and Hamelin did seem to be something of a technological city, it wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. Swaine was fiddling with little bits of it, probably like, tuning it or something - technological things like that weren’t really his thing.

Oliver walks back up to them, adjusting things in his bag, “Alright,” He said, “Now let’s go talk to Khulan.”

Khulan wasn’t hard to find, though Oliver seemed to know where she’d be anyway. She wore mostly jade green, though there were white feathers on the shoulders of her clothes. She was speaking with a man, who was laughing heartily and joyfully at something she said.

“Khulan! Kublai!” Oliver called, waving at them, jogging to go up and meet them sooner.

The man, Kublai, apparently, turned to face them first, Khulan following not too long after. She gave Oliver and Swaine a smile, and a slight confused look at Hikaru, though it was brief.

“Oliver,” She smiled, “What brings you here?”

Wasting no time, Oliver explained what had occurred prior and brought them to Perdida. Through the whole explanation, Khulan listened, her expression neutral. If she had any thoughts on the matter she wasn’t saying them, though it could simply be she wanted the whole picture.

With the explanation finished, Khulan finally spoke, “I cannot say for sure what that spell might be...” Her tone was even, her words slow. She seemed to be measuring what she was saying, careful. “Though I have my suspicions. I will need to do some research.”

Glancing at Swaine and Hikaru, then back to Oliver, she continues, “Until then, you should proceed with caution in your investigation of Tombstone Trail.” 

Nodding, Oliver responds, “Right, we’ll go see what’s going on at Tombstone Trail,” He turns around, “Come on, Swaine, Mr. Hikaru, let’s go!”

\---

Through the use of magic once more, they now stood in front of an ominous entrance to what HIkaru was informed was the Tombstone Trail. The trail itself was dark, with leafless trees and, unsurprisingly, tombstones. There were blue wisps floating about the air, providing a faint blue light on top of the light of the moon.

Hikaru looked around, “Geez,” He found himself saying aloud, “This place is... creepy.”

Swaine laughed, “I mean, it is called the Tombstone Trail.” Hikaru can tell he’s not trying to be mean. At least, he doesn’t think so, “What were you expecting? Sunshine and rainbows?”

Leading them to an area where the path, large as it was, split into two, Oliver comments, almost idly, “Horace said that this place was once filled with flowers,” It was an off hand comment, but it made Hikaru wonder. Everything here seemed like it had been there for a while, how long ago was that Horace Oliver mentioned talking about? How old was Horace if he could know that? Hikaru was certain that some of these tombstones had been there a while.

Oliver leads them to the left trail and it didn’t take long before they could see some kind of creature. Hikaru had never seen anything like it, it didn’t look like any animal he had ever seen. When they got close to it, it immediately ran off the moment it noticed them.That wasn’t unexpected behavior of an animal, but the creature didn’t really seem like an animal.

He didn’t say anything at first, but after it happened a few times, Hikaru’s curiosity finally showed. “What... What are those things?” He asked, watching as another creature ran off.

“You’re telling me you don’t know a creature when you see one?” Swaine asks, incredulously. He was giving a look with an eyebrow raised.

“...What?”

“Swaine, we don’t have creatures like that in our world,” Oliver explains, “In this world there are creatures. The ones here can tell we’re strong enough that they won’t bug us.”

Hikaru watches as another creature scurries off, “Yeah, we don’t really have creatures...” He’s sort of just wondering out loud, to no one in particular. “The closest we have are some giant monsters, occasionally.”

Oliver stops, whipping his head back to look at Hikaru, eyes wide, “Giant monsters?” He asked, “What do you mean giant monster?”

It wasn’t really a surprise that Oliver didn’t know about them. They only showed up in Furuhoshi, so while the whole town may have known about them, people outside of it certainly didn’t. Even Misuzu’s dad, who had family in town, didn't know about it until he saw it with his own eyes. For some reason the news never really made it out of town.

He decided he should explain, “In my hometown, there was a period where some giant monsters showed up, occasionally.” He tried to be as nonchalant about it as possible, not wanting to cause too much alarm. “They haven’t shown up since, so I guess it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Giant monsters just start showing up in your hometown,” Swaine began, crossing his arms, “And you consider that ‘not that big of a deal’?”

“I guess?” Hikaru then offered, “I mean there wasn’t even all that much damage...”

They’d come to an old sort of shack, maybe a shed or something. But it was definitely old. It was impossible to get into, since it was boarded up, but it was still a curious sight. He wondered why it was there, what it was once for. Was it something like a groundskeepers shed? Except there hadn’t been a single other living soul on the trail. 

Stretching, Swaine glances around, “Well, at least we’re halfway through.”

“Halfway and there’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Oliver added, warily looking around.

“Maybe there’s nothing actually going on?” Hikaru suggested, looking around and tilting his head, taking in his surroundings. “Or maybe whatever was causing it has already left?”

Swaine laughed at that, “Things rarely leave,” He said, “Whatever it is, it’s probably closer to the top.”

Oliver nodded, “We’ll just have to keep going to find out...”

“Let’s just all be careful, alright?” Swaine glanced at Hikaru, “If there’s some creature or whatever you stay out of the fight.”

“Huh?” Came Hikaru, far beyond confused, “Fight?”

He was giving Hikaru a once over, “I mean, you don’t look like you could fight very well, or have a weapon...” He continued on, ignoring the confused look on HIkaru’s face, “Or even a familiar!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Hikaru waved his hands frantically, “Fight? You mean those creatures can be hostile?”

Giving him a reassuring look, Oliver explained, “The ones we’ve seen so far know we’re strong, so they don’t try to fight us. But it’s possible that there are some that are stronger and will try to fight us.” He points to Swaine, “Swaine has his gun and his familiars, I have magic and my familiars, so leave fighting the creatures to us.”

Hikaru wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about letting a fourteen year old fight creatures, but he figured Oliver had a good argument. Oliver had a way to fight the creatures. Unless they were big enough to UltraLive, Hikaru didn’t really have much. He had some fighting skills, but without the protection of the Ginga Spark, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get near enough to try them on these creatures.

So, he would just have to do as Oliver and Swaine asked and leave it to them. He wasn’t even entirely convinced that there was really anything going on here, so far it seemed like there was nothing unusual. Certainly, there was nothing that glaringly stood out, like he had sort of been expecting. Of course, Swaine was probably right, and whatever was causing this was towards the end of the trail. There was only one way to find out.

They continued into a cave, which lacked the tombstones the rest of the trail had. There were candles along the way, which gave just enough light for them to be able to progress without having to worry about getting lost or something. Hikaru was beginning to get an odd feeling, one he wasn’t really sure how to describe. The closest he could come up with was like when people were given Dark Sparks so they could MonsLive into monsters.

Once they were through the cave, it didn’t take them long to come up to a clearing, of sorts. There were still countless tombstones all around, but there was a significant area that lacked them. At the very top of the hill was a large tombstone. Hikaru thought that whoever it belonged to, they were important.

But that wasn’t the most important part, though frankly Hikaru wished it was. No, standing near the large tombstone at the top of the hill was a person, one who he was certain he recognized. The person, the one who was in the forest outside of Motorville and had brought him here, seemed to be trying to perform some kind of spell, though it seemed to be a different one than before. 

“Oliver,” Hikaru said quietly, hoping that the person wouldn’t notice them, “That’s the person from before!”

There was a frown on Oliver’s face, his eyes narrow when he responded, “That’s what I thought... But I didn’t get a very good look before he used Gateway...” He looks at Hikaru and Swaine, “We have to stop him, before he can cast his spell.”

He continued, glancing back at the person, “Hikaru, you should stay over here in case we have to fight him.” Hikaru didn’t protest, unless there was a giant... something, he wasn’t going to be much help. “Swaine and I will try to stop him.”

Swaine nods in response and within moments, the two were running up to the person. Swaine had his strange gun in hand, Oliver was holding his wand, both clearly ready for a fight if necessary. Oliver called out to the man, “Hey! Stop that!”

The person turns to look at the two and Hikaru thinks he can see a frown on his dragon-like face. “What? Who’re you two?” He growls shifting his grip on his staff. “How dare you interrupt me? Do you know just who I am?”

With a smirk, Swaine responds, “Nope, you sure don’t ring a bell.” It was the certain degree of sass that not everyone was actually willing to use, but Swaine certainly was one of those people.

With a grumble, the person responds, “Oh look at what this disastrous world’s coming to, they don’t even know who I, Pictor, is.”

“Yeah... Never heard of you,”

The person, PIctor, is clearly disgruntled, seemingly offended that no one knew who he was. He grumbled again, glaring at Oliver and Swaine, “Gah, it doesn’t matter. You two should just get out of here.”

“No way!” Oliver protested, “Whatever you’re trying to do, we’re not going to let you.”

Rolling his eyes, Pictor responds rather irritably, “I don’t need to deal with this right now. I just need to get-” He looks at the tombstone beside him, as though there was something there he wanted. Then he looked back at Oliver, eyes widening when he saw something. “Wait, is that....”

He creeps closer, eyeing the wand in Oliver’s hand. Oliver takes a step back, bringing the wand up to protect himself, then moving it to keep it away from Pictor. He seems to be unsure what to do, since Pictor was clearly interested in it.

Pictor continues, quiet enough that Hikaru can barely hear him, “Is that Mornstar...?” He eyes it for a moment more before continuing, “It has the gems, even...”

Looking Oliver in the eyes, Pictor inquires, “You must give me that wand,” He grasps at the wand, though Swaine intervenes and pushes himself back. “That is what I came here for!”

“Yeah right,” Swaine scoffed, “Get your own.” There was something else there, though. A threat, from both Swaine and Pictor. Hikaru wasn’t really sure what was so important about Oliver’s wand, but he could tell that Pictor wasn’t afraid to try to take it by force.

“No I-” Then Pictor groaned, “Oh, who cares! You’re going to give me that wand or I’ll take it!”

Oliver adjusts his hold on his wand - Mornstar? - and shifted his position. Swaine did much the same, though with his gun. They seemed to sense the impending fight, the same as Hikaru could. “We’re not going to give it to you without a fight,”

Pictor drew a symbol in the air - a spell, Hikaru was learning - and around the clearing walls appeared. Hikaru was just inside these walls, which prompted him to touch it. It was solid, he’d have thought it had been there if he hadn’t seen it appear. Ultimately, though, he wasn’t going to be able to leave, he’d just have to avoid getting caught in the impending fight.

Swaine moves off to the side, calling on a creature to aid him - Hikaru figured that was a familiar but he wasn’t sure - while Oliver ran closer to the edge of the ring, seemingly trying to put space between himself and Pictor. As he began to draw a symbol in the air with his wand, he was lifted off the ground and the pages of his book began to flip. Swaine’s familiar was making itself busy with Pictor, who was swatting at it with his staff.

A glob of light just appeared around Pictor, then in a flash seemed to harm him, knocking him back. Glancing over at Oliver, his feet were back on the ground and he was moving once again. In retaliation, Pictor cast a spell that seemed to knock Swaine’s familiar back. That also seemed to harm Swaine - so Hikaru assumes that when a familiar gets hurt so too does it’s... master?

Pictor looked up at Oliver, “You know how to cast Mornstar...” Then he laughs, “I shouldn’t be surprised!” He begins to draw a symbol in the air, almost seeming to gather energy. Whatever he was trying to do, Hikaru was honestly a bit worried about it.

“Everyone defend!” Oliver yelled when Pictor began to cast his spell. Swaine and his familiar slipped into a defensive position, bracing themselves for the spell. Oliver seemed to realize something, looking over to Hikaru. Hikaru realized it too. If that attack was going to hit everyone in the area walled off by Pictor’s magic wall...

Then it was going to hit Hikaru too.

Oliver quickly drew a symbol in the air and cast a spell. Around Hikaru appeared a sort of magical barrier, not unlike the one that enclosed the arena. The only difference, he found, was that the barrier that Oliver created wasn’t as solid. Unfortunately, Hikaru had barely the time to recognize this when Pictor finished whatever preparation he needed for his spell.

An invisible force ripped its way across the area, knocking Swaine and his familiar back slightly. Hikaru had just enough time to try to brace himself, before it too hit him, though he wasn’t fully prepared and it knocked him back more than Swaine and his familiar. Oliver was the one who took the attack the worst, not having the time to defend himself after casting his spell.

“Oliver!”

Pictor wastes no time and makes his way over to Oliver, ignoring the shots from Swaine’s gun. Hikaru debated with himself for a moment, wondering what would be the best thing to do. He didn’t have much time, and the next thing Hikaru knows, he’s running towards Oliver and Pictor.

For what was the third time that day, Hikaru tackled Pictor once again.

“Gah!” Pictor shoves him off, stumbling into a stand. Hikaru lands on his butt, scrambling onto his feet. He wasn’t going to get caught unable to defend himself if he had to. Pictor’s clearly annoyed, “Oh, you just love to do that don’t you!”

He’s glaring at Hikaru, then he looks around, eyes falling on something on the ground near Hikaru. Pictor frowns, “Is that...?” Then a twisted sort of smirk forms on his face, immediately making Hikaru uneasy. “Oh, well I have an even better plan!”

Oliver has gotten up, moving closer to Hikaru, joined by Swaine. Pictor seemed to care little, beginning to draw a symbol in the air with his staff. “I can get Mornstar some other time... I have a better test for today!”

There was little time for them to act, the spell completing with a flash of grey. Then there was a roar, one that made Hikaru freeze, just for a moment. Instinctively, he looked up, searching for the giant form that he just knew would be there. He wasn’t wrong, though he didn’t have to look as high as he had thought. Staring down at them was a giant monster, one that Hikaru faintly recalled seeing before.

What was it called...? Zara...? Zaragra...? Zaragras? Yeah, Zaragras.

Pictor grinned, then shrugged, “Let’s see how you deal with this!” He quickly drew a symbol that Hikaru had learned was for the Travel spell, then disappeared.

“That monster’s huge!” Swaine yelled, “How’re we supposed to deal with that?!”

Hikaru’s hand went into his pocket to grab the Ginga Spark. He could stop this monster, he’d done it before and he’d stopped monsters plenty of times. Even though he didn’t have any SparkDolls, he could manage. He could probably even just UltraLive straight to Ginga. Or he hoped he could.

...Only the Ginga Spark wasn’t in his pocket.

He must have dropped it, but when? He quickly looks around, relieved to see it lying not too far from Swaine’s feet. He scrambles to grab it.

“Hey!” Swaine yelped, “Have you lost your mind? What are you doing?”

Ginga Spark in hand, Hikaru stands, “I can deal with the monster!”

“How?” Oliver asked, “I think it would shrug off any of my spells.”

“Just trust me!” From the Ginga Spark appeared Ginga’s SparkDoll, which Hikaru grabbed. “Ginga!”

Upon placing the SparkDoll’s foot on the Ginga Spark, he could hear a voice call out, “UltraLive!” Followed by, “Ultraman Ginga!” And a familiar warmth covered him.

\---

The light that flowed from Mr. Hikaru’s strange object engulfed him and soon, the light that was Mr. Hikaru wasn’t really Mr. Hikaru. The... person, who stood there looked exactly like that strange doll that had appeared when he was brokenhearted.

Oliver wasn’t sure what all this was. Was it magic? If it was, Mr. Hikaru must not have known, though he seemed to take the idea of magic as a while rather easily. It didn’t quite feel like magic, not that he was an expert in that.

“He just...” Swaine trailed, “He just became that giant.” He wasn’t the only one with that reaction, Oliver felt it too.

As the giant - hadn’t that voice that seemingly came from the object Mr. Hikaru had called it Ultraman Ginga? - wasted no time in fighting the giant monster. Oliver had to wonder... Was Mr. Hikaru in there? Could he yell out to the giant and Mr. HIkaru would hear him? Or would it just be the giant hearing him? Were the giant and Mr. Hikaru the same being or were they seperate?

So many questions, though they’d only be getting answers from Mr. Hikaru. They’d just have to wait until after the monster was defeated. Given how the fight was going, it seemed like it would only be a minute or two.

“So I guess this is happening,” Swaine continued, almost absentmindedly. Oliver could agree easily, it was the sort of thing that was much easier to simply nod your head and go with it than to think too hard. “He can just... turn into a giant and fight monsters.”

Yet something in Oliver’s head told him it was all important. Not quite magic but not far from it. He couldn’t help but repeat the name, “Ultraman Ginga...”

Swaine looks over at him, “Huh?”

In kind, Oliver looks to Swiane and elaborates, “The giant Mr. HIkaru became,” He points at Ginga, “Their name is... Ultraman Ginga.”

Looking back up at Ginga, Swaine wondered aloud, “Ultraman Ginga, huh?” Ginga dodges out of the way of an attack from the monster, retaliating with a punch, “I wonder if it’s magic.”

Olvier hummed, “Not quite,” He said, “At least I don’t think so. It seems.... different.”

Ginga placed some distance between himself and the monster, then used some kind of energy based attack. The monster exploded and disappeared in a way different than when creatures were fought but not.

Ginga glowed then began to shrink in a glow of light, which landed on the ground. When the light disappeared, HIkaru was standing there, still holding his strange object in his hand.

“Mr. HIkaru!” Oliver cried, running over, “That was amazing!”

“What was that?” Swaine added, “Sure isn’t much like anything I’ve seen.”

Mr. Hikaru paused for a moment, frowning, then said, “That was Ginga,” He looked at the object in his hand, returning it to his pocket, “He’s an Ultraman.”

“An Ultraman?” Oliver echoed, equal parts curious and amazed. He shook his head, shaking the thoughts away. They had other things they needed to focus on. “Never mind, now we know that Pictor had something to do with this. Not to mention he wanted Mornstar.”

Oliver looks down at his wand. Pictor was right that he had Mornstar, but wrong about the wand he was currently using. In his hand wasn’t Mornstar, but Astra, the twin to Mornstar. They looked so similar that he wasn’t surprised at the confusion, but that wasn’t the important part. For whatever reason, Pictor needed the one - at least one of them - of the Wizard King.

With a frown, Swaine said, “Whatever spell he wants to cast, he needs a powerful wand, then?”

Looking up at him, Oliver nodded, “Probably, though it’s probably better to ask Khulan about that.”

Mr. HIkaru looked at his watch, “Oh geez,” He said, “We’ve been here for a while.”

“What do you mean?” Oliver asked. They hadn’t been in the Tombstone Trail for all that long. Maybe an hour or so at most.

Still, Mr. Hikaru elaborated, “I mean, it’s already evening, aren’t your parents going to worry?”

Oliver’s face fell at that question. He knew that Hikaru had no way of knowing... But it still hurt, just a bit. Shaking his head, he responded, “I don’t have any parents...” He said, “My mom died a few months ago...”

“Oh,” Mr. Hikaru said, his tone subdued. He seemed a bit.... not exactly embarrassed but something else. “I’m sorry.”

Shaking his head, Oliver shrugs, “It’s... It’s fine.” He gives his head one last shake to get rid of the unwanted things. He looks to Mr. Hikaru, “If you want, I can cast Gateway and take you back to Motorville.”

Mr. Hikaru seemed conflicted, “Pictor clearly recognized the Ginga Spark... He knew I could become Ginga, If he tried something else... something with another monster, I should be here.” He shook his head, seemingly chasing whatever doubts he had away. When he continued, there was a determined glint in his eyes, “Until Pictor is stopped, I’ll stay here as long as necessary.”

That surprised Oliver, but he wasn’t going to argue with Mr. Hikaru. He seemed so very determined, plenty prepared for what he was saying he’d do. Oliver could appreciate that, and if Pictor really was trying to do something, whatever that may be, they would probably need Mr. Hikaru’s help.

He nods, “Alright, if that’s what you want.”

With a determined smile, Mr. Hikaru nods, “Yes,”

\---

As they soon found out, though, if Pictor was up to anything else, he sure was taking his time. There hadn’t been a sign of him since they met him at the Tombstone Trail. It had been a couple weeks now - Oliver and Hikaru had gone back to Motorville a couple times during then - and not much had happened.

Khulan hadn’t found much more about whatever spell Pictor had been trying to cast and at this point Hikaru was starting to wonder if they were just imagining whatever Pictor might be trying. They’d been hanging around Perdida until she found something.

One day, Oliver came up to him, “Hey, Mr. Hikaru?”

“Yeah?”

Oliver seemed hesitant, “I’m not sure how long this will all take...” He began, “Maybe you should go back to our world?”

“But what are you going to do if Pictor summons another monster and I’m gone?” The last thing Hikaru wanted was to not be around if they needed him. But it seemed Oliver had thought of that.

“Well, I thought about that! You have a phone, right?” Hikaru nods, prompting Oliver to continue, “It takes pretty much no time to cast Gateway, so I could just go and call you if we think we might need you.”

Hikaru wasn’t sure how much he liked the plan, but he didn’t have much better. He was starting to get bored and he really wanted to continue his adventures. Oliver’s plan seemed.... well good enough.

He sighed, “Alright, I guess that’s the best plan we’ve got.”

And so Hikaru returned to his and Oliver’s world, continuing his adventures. After a while, he almost forgot about all of it, but he couldn’t. Something about it just stuck with him. But time continued to pass and he heard little from Oliver. Occasionally, Oliver would call him just to talk, or to update him on what little progress was made. But they never made enough to need Hikaru to come back.

After a year or so, he joined the UPG, he met Shou - Ultraman Victory - Shou joined the UPG, and then they met Daichi and Ultraman X. They’d done so much.

But he never really forgot about Oliver and the other world. If only he knew that he’d be coming back to it sooner than he expected.


	3. On We Go, Into a Place We Don't Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while... and Hikaru finds himself back in the other world, with Shou alongside him.

It was a usual day at the UPG, calm and kinda nice. As much as HIkaru was bored when nothing was happening, it also meant that everything was safe and fine. While the occasional monster appeared, it was mostly calm. Really, the most excitement they had was the... incident, briefly, that Orb dealt with. But regardless, that brought Hikaru to now, where he was kinda... bored.

If anyone else felt that way, they weren’t doing anything to make it seem such. Of course, Hikaru was trying his best not to let his boredom show himself, so that wasn’t too surprising. Or maybe he really was the only one who was bored. Generally, it didn’t matter much, he kept himself entertained when he didn’t have anything else to do. But he finished what work he had early today, and now he didn’t really know what to do.

It was times like these when his mind would wonder, oftentimes returning that strange day in Motorville. To Oliver, the polite and kind boy who - by some means that Hikaru didn’t really understand - had magic. Magic that could heal an indescribable pain, pain that the boy had called a broken heart. Oliver and the magical world he’d become a part of, those memories never really left Hikaru, even close to four years later.

Though he’d hear from Oliver occasionally, oftentimes just to talk (”How have you been?”, “Danny made it to the State track meet!”, “You’ve met another Ultraman? That’s cool!”, and other similar such topics), sometimes, it was hard for him to believe that Oliver’s magic and that other world truly existed. But he never stopped believing in it, because he’d seen enough from Ultras and such to know that those sort of things can’t be ruled out. He hadn’t heard from Oliver in a while, but he assumed Oliver was just busy, being a kid or running around the other world.

Then again... Oliver had said he was fourteen when they met... Hmm. So maybe Oliver wasn’t really a kid anymore, he’d be about eighteen now, wouldn’t he? Hikaru did recall Oliver mentioning that he was graduating high school last time he called. Still, Hikaru knew that Oliver always tried to spend time in the other world, to help out however he could. Hikaru could easily understand that, in a way he’d done the same when he traveled around the world.

Maybe he should call Oliver himself, soon. Just to talk, like they usually did. Usually, Oliver called, but it could be a nice change of pace for Hikaru to do so. He usually waited for Oliver to call, simply because he had no way of knowing if Oliver was even in their world or if he was in the other world. So it made more sense to let Oliver call first. But maybe this time Hikaru would try to call himself.

“Hikaru?” Blinking, Hikaru sees Sakuya looking at him, a small, but confused smile on her face, “You were staring off into space.”

He returns the smile, shaking his head, “I’m fine, I was just thinking.” He adjusts his sitting position and turns to be able to see her better, “Did you need something?”

She eyes him for a moment before smiling and shaking her head, “No, you were just so lost in thought I wanted to make sure everything was okay.” She pauses a moment before continuing, “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about talking to a friend I made on my travels,” He responded, “It’s been a while since we talked.”

Sakuya nods, “You should!” She grinned, “I bet your friend would probably want to talk.”

He probably should make that call.

\---

Hikaru never got around to calling Oliver, not that day, at least. He was going to do it today, a couple days later, but he certainly couldn’t do it right now. He and Shou were searching around a forest, there had been reports of some strange goings on. No one wanted to risk it being something like an Alien, especially if it could result in a monster attack.

As they searched the forest, they continued to find nothing strange at all. Everything was, as far as they could tell, the way it should be, seeming like not even a stone was out of place. Hikaru was beginning to think it was all a false alarm, that there was nothing in the forest to worry about.

But, since when had they ever had that good of luck? Just when Hikaru was about to suggest that they turn back, he noticed something. At first, he thought he was just imagining things. Sometimes the wind just oddly picked up and sometimes you just got odd feelings. He didn’t think that for long though, because he’d felt this before, even if it had been a few years. He could forget it, that day had a lot going on.

Still, he wasn’t positive about what he was feeling. Or more like he really didn’t want to be right. So he called to Shou, “Hey, uh, Shou?” Glancing over in the direction he thinks the strange feeling and wind might be coming from, he continues, “Do you... do you feel that?”

Shou looked over in the direction Hikaru was looking, contemplative. He furrows his brow before responding, “I’m not sure...” He looks to Hikaru, “We should investigate.”

With a nod, Hikaru joins Shou in moving closer. Before they get there, the wind dies down and the feeling.... not quite disappears, not entirely, but it lessens, far less noticeable. Still, the two continued to move, finally coming to a small clearing. In the clearing they could see the form of a person - or something close enough to a person, it was hard to tell from where they were - who wore a cloak, obscuring much of their appearance. The person had their back to them.

“Do you think that person has something to do with the odd reports?” Hikaru asked in a whisper. For some reason or other, this situation was giving him deja vu of increasing strength. He thought he knew why, but he really didn’t want that to be the case.

There was a moment of silence before Shou responded, “Possibly,” He said, “But there’s only one way to find out.”

He stands, prompting Hikaru to follow him. Shou calls to the person, “Hey, you!”

The person’s shoulders stiffened, though barely perceivable, then they shifted slightly. They turned so that they’re side was now facing the two of them, their face still mostly obscured by the hood of the cloak. Still, some of it was visible, mainly what seemed almost like a scaly sort of snout.

They seemed vaguely familiar, though since Hikaru could see only a little of the person, it was hard to say. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions (he didn’t want the conclusion he was so close to having turned out to be correct), but he couldn’t deny that what little of the person he could see seemed familiar. The whole situation seemed familiar to him, something that only seemed to fill him with increasingly more dread.

Finally, the person spoke, “You wish for my attention?” His tone was even, almost casual, as if two people weren’t confronting him in the middle of a forest. HIkaru stiffened slightly, though he tried to hide it. He recognized that voice. That recognition flipped a switch in his head, it was a confirmation of what he had feared. He’d hoped that his assumptions were wrong, but that wasn’t the case. “Well, now, you have it, don’t you?”

Hikaru quickly contemplated if he should say anything, if he should dare to grab Pictor’s attention. He didn’t seem to recognize HIkaru, if he even remembered him. Regardless, Shou didn’t seem to notice Hikaru hesitance, or if he did he simply chose to ignore it.

“Who are you?” Came Shou, eyeing Pictor, “What are you doing?”

There’s a moment of silence, Pictor seemingly eyeing them. Then, he turns to face them, his cloak moving and revealing more of him. Yes, that was definitely Pictor. His shoulders are shaking and a laugh becomes audible, “Ha! You think I owe you that?” The attitude he had seemed a bit different than the one he had when Hikaru had first encountered him, though maybe he was imagining it. “Just know, I am working towards my vision.”

His staff appeared in one of his hands and he began to draw a symbol in the air. Hikaru didn’t recall what the symbols for any of the spells he’d seen looked like, but he didn’t doubt that whatever Pictor was trying to cast, it wasn’t good. Hoping that he’d be quick enough, Hikaru wasted no time in doing the first thing that he thought of.

Tackle.

Pictor was knocked to the ground, his staff landing on the ground a foot or so away. With a grunt, he scrambled away from Hikaru, eyeing him. Hikaru quickly got back on his feet, standing. Pictor squinted at him, “You’re familiar,” He said, “Yes, we’ve met before.”

Then, quicker than Hikaru could react, Pictor grabbed his staff, stood, and hit Hikaru with it. Hikaru stumbled back into Shou who had moved closer. Pictor grumbled, “Gah, who cares!” He began to draw a symbol in the air, a different one this time, “I just need to get rid of you.”

Though he tried to tell Shou to stop him, as Hikaru was still too winded to do so again himself, Shou didn’t hear him. Not before the spell finished and a light grew around them. Hikaru had felt this feeling before, this spell. Though he couldn’t remember the symbol, the feeling was unique.

Gateway.

\---

The next thing Hikaru and Shou knew, they were in some grassy fields, a few trees here and there. The next thing Hikaru noticed were the creatures, which ambled around, in no hurry. He’d seen ones like them before, though not the same, when he, Oliver, and Swaine, were traveling through the Tombstone Trail.

Which brought him to his next realization, though he wasn’t terribly surprised at that point. “I know where we are.”

Shou, still a bit shaken, looks over to him confused, “You know where we are?” He echoed, confused.

“Well not exactly,” Hikaru clarified, “Like not the specific place but... We’re in another world.”

Taking a moment, Shou responds, “Like with X and the Judas? Or Mulnau?”

With a shrug, Hikaru did his best to look around, “I guess,” Though they hadn’t caught the attention of the creatures around them yet, he didn’t doubt that they would soon. There was no guarantee that the creatures would leave them be. Were they strong enough to dissuade attacks? Hard to say, since he and Shou had limited abilities to fight when they weren't as Ginga and Victory. “We should... we should probably get out of this field.”

Glancing over at him, Shou frowns, “How come?” His eyes finally fall onto one of the creatures, who was looking at him from behind a tree. “Is it because of that small monster?”

Hikaru snaps his head up, eyes meeting with the creature. They stand there, staring at each other, Hikaru hoping that it would go away. The creature moves closer, making a small sound, sounding slightly aggressive. Then, it ran at the two of them, it’s tusks suddenly seeming very sharp.

“Yeah... I don’t think it’s very friendly.” As the creature got close to them, the two jumped out of the way. The creature ultimately ran past them, unable to adjust it’s direction. “We uh, we should probably just run from that.”

Shou nodded, and the two ran from the creature. Hikaru looked over his shoulder, seeing that the monster was charging at them again. Hikaru tried to move again, but his foot caught on a root as they were beginning to go down the hill.Normally, had they not been on a hill, Hikaru would probably have been able to recover from catching his foot. But, the hill provided a different result.

Hikaru tumbled down the hill, simply thankful that he seemed to be avoiding anything hard. When he finally tumbled to a stop, mostly because the hill had flattened, he had to take a moment to right himself. That and he was kinda dizzy from the tumble.

“Hikaru!” Shou was making his way down the hill, no longer being chased by the creature, “Are you okay?”

With a deep breath, Hikaru calls back, “Yeah, just a bit... dizzy.” He looks around, trying to orient himself. He notices something on a hill not too far from him. A city, surrounded by walls, most likely to keep the creatures out. “Hey, Shou! Look, a city!”

Now standing next to where Hikaru sat on the ground, Shou followed Hikaru’s finger. He squints then says, “It is,” He looks down at Hikaru, “We should go there.”

Nodding in response, Hikaru stands, “Yeah, hopefully we won’t draw too much attention.”

“What do you mean?” Shou frowned and the two began to walk towards the city. They were doing what they could to avoid catching the attention of any of the creatures.

Recalling when he had been brought to this world before, having the horrible luck to land in the middle of a city, HIkaru answered, “If I remember right, people in this world dress a bit differently than in ours.” A bit might be something of an understatement. “Our clothing is probably going to grab attention.”

Shou takes a moment to look at their clothing, their UPG uniforms, his brow furrowed in thought. The clothing that Victorians wore was different than what those above ground wore, but not so much so it drew attention. Unfortunately, even if Shou had been wearing that, he would probably have drawn attention too. There wasn’t much to do about that, they’d catch the attention of the citizens of the city no matter what.

Soon enough they walked into the city, well aware of all the attention they were garnering. They chose to ignore that, now that they were out of the hills, they had a safe place to try to discuss their next course of action. They had to find a way back to their world, at the very least.

Hikaru sighed, “So now we need to figure out what we do next.”

“We need to get back to our world,” Shou thinks for a moment, then seems to realize something. He gives Hikaru a look, “Wait, that person, he recognized you.”

Thinking back on it, Pictor had recognized him, maybe that was why he used Gateway instead of trying to do what he’d done before. While it was only a small surprise to Hikaru, Shou had every reason to be confused about it. “Before,” Hikaru began to explain, “When I first ended up in this world, he was the reason why.”

After mulling over his words for a few moments, Shou responds, “Well then, how did you get back to our world that time?”

“A boy sent me back,” Hikaru said, “He could probably get us back, actually.”

“Except he’d have to be here to do that.”

Looking around, Hikaru saw the various citizens in the city. There were normal humans, of course there were, but there were others. People who looked more like bipedal cats than anything else. He tried not to stare, not to make them think he was staring. “Oliver.... I know Oliver spends a lot of time in this world,” Even if he also knew that the time Oliver spent was decreasing as the boy grew older. “I’m pretty sure everyone knows of him in this world, so if we ask around, we’ll probably find him. Eventually.”

Shou lifts an eyebrow, giving Hikaru a curious look, “How can everyone in a world know of a boy?”

Chuckling slightly, Hikaru thinks about that. The most knowledge he had of that was... What? It was sort of just an impression he’d gotten, it seemed like, from what he’d seen and what he’d heard from Oliver. He might recall Oliver mentioning something about that before, but it hadn’t seemed to stuck with him. “I’m not... I’m not sure.” He said, “It just seems that way. And I guess he’s not a boy anymore.”

With a sigh, Shou responded, “Alright, let’s start asking around.”

\---

It had been an average day for Oliver, he’d just finished running around doing some small bounties. He needed to restock on some supplies - he was running dreadfully low on Cappuccinos - so he made his way to the nearest town. Thus, he was in Ding Dong Dell, picking up supplies from the Couple’s shop. He was glad that their shop was still going strong, even five or so years later.

As he was paying the wife, she said something off hand, as she was counting the Guilders he’d given her, “You know, Oliver,” She placed the money in the cash register, “These two strange men were asking around about you.”

“Strange men?” He inquired, placing his supplies into his bag, “What do you mean?”

“They showed up earlier today,” She explained, “They dressed so oddly. And they’ve been asking if anyone has seen you.”

That was certainly strange but... Dressed oddly? Could it be someone from his world? But they’d have to be someone who knew him, or at least one of them would have to. And at least one of them would have to know that he came to this world. That certainly narrowed the list.

He had his suspicions as to who at least one of those people were, but the best way to find out would be to find them. “Do you know where they are now?”

She gives him something of a concerned look before answering, “I’m not entirely sure,” She said, “But the last person who mentioned them said they were over by the grave. They didn’t seem like they’d be moving anytime soon.”

Oliver gives her a smile, “Thanks!” He left, and soon was running down the streets of Ding Dong Dell, making his way to the grave. It would be a good place to have privacy, especially if you didn’t want to grab attention.

He was almost certain as to the identity of one of those oddly dressed people. Mostly because there was only one person from his world that knew about this world. So when he turned the corner into the garden the grave was situated in, he was not surprised at one of the faces he saw there.

“Mr. Hikaru!” He called, catching the attention of the taller of the two. He looked much like he did when they first met, though his clothing was much different. Since the man beside him wore the same, Oliver assumed it was the uniform on the group Mr. Hikaru had said he worked with.

Mr. Hikaru’s face lights up, a smile on his face, “Oliver!” He waves.

The man beside Hikaru tilts his head, “So this is the person you were talking about?” It feels like he’s examining Oliver so closely, Oliver almost thought that he might be looking through him.

Looking at his friend, Mr. Hikaru responds, “Right, Shou, this is Oliver. Oliver, this is Shou.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Shou,” Oliver greets, then turns to face Mr. Hikaru again, “I heard that you were looking for me. Did something happen? How did you end up here?”

The question seemed to cause him to remember something, as he looked to Mr. Shou and frowned. Then he looked back over to Oliver, “It was Pictor,” Oliver took in the few words, the tone making up for the brevity. Not that such a statement needed more words, the point was easy to convey.

“Pictor?” He echoed, “But there hasn’t been a sign of him since you first came here!”

“The person certainly recognized Hikaru,” Mr. Shou notes, glancing at Mr. Hikaru.

There’s a determined look on Mr. Hikaru’s face when he responds, “I saw him well enough to know. That was Pictor. It sounded like him, it looked like him, and he had magic.”

Truly, Oliver didn’t doubt Mr. Hikaru, but it was still unsettling. It had seemed like Pictor had just disappeared for years, but now, by chance, they knew he was still poking about. And he was in their world to boot, not this one. Though maybe that shouldn’t surprise Oliver, Pictor had been in their world when Mr. Hikaru and Oliver first encountered him. But the question still remained, what was he doing in their world? What was he trying to achieve? Should they look for him over in their world, or in this world? Both?

He frowned, “That’s not good,” He said, almost absentmindedly, “We really need to figure out what he’s trying to do.”

“Do we know if he’s dangerous?” Mr. Shou inquired, “Does he need to be stopped?”

“Maybe?” Oliver offered, “We don’t know much about what he’s doing, so it’s hard to say...”

As Oliver tried to grasp at what Pictor’s plans might be, Mr. Hikaru speaks up, “Did he want you wand, before?”

That was right, he’d try to grab Astra, not realizing that he’d misidentified it as Mornstar, “He was trying to get Mornstar, which I do have, though it’s not the wand I use. I use Astra, it’s twin. Still, they’re similar enough that he probably didn’t realize the difference.” But why did he need Mornstar? For a spell he was trying to cast? Was it simply he needed a stronger wand than the staff he already had? “It’s probably for a spell, some spells need stronger wands in order to be cast.”

The response prompted Mr. Hikaru to wonder aloud, “But what spell? What could he be trying to do?”

“Is there anyone who might have some idea?” Mr. Shou asked.

Oliver ran through his mental list of who was knowledgeable about magic. Obviously the ones who came to mind first were the Great Sages. Given how it went last time Pictor showed up, it would probably be best to go straight to Perdida and ask Khulan. Just hope that she would be able to have better luck than last time.

He nods his head, “Yeah, I think Khulan could probably help. At least, I hope she can.”

“That’s the person we went to last time, right?”

“Yep!” Oliver brought out his wand and looked to the other two, “If you’re ready, we can head to Perdida.”

Mr. Shou tilts his head, “Is it close?”

In response, Mr. Hikaru looked at him and smiled, “Nope! But Oliver has magic.”

“Travel shouldn’t feel too odd,” Oliver assured, “At least, no one has ever told me it does.”

And with that, Oliver cast Travel and they were off to Perdida.


End file.
